I don't think there are a lot of huge bass either, other than the picture I saw last week the only ones I see are right here on this site.
I like your thinking outside the box and your eel idea for largemouth makes sense to me. Lamprey eel juveniles are the number one primo bait for river smallies and walleye on the Delaware River and I would think it would work on the Ct. River or any river with lamprey spawning.
Lake Housatonic is full of those 6-9 inch american eels so freshwater bass see them in some of our fisheries.